


You Just Haven't Earned It Yet

by OhNoMyBreadsticks



Category: Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Firefighters, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Veterinarians, F/M, Flirting, Innuendo, Love at First Sight, Mentions of other witchers, No Animals Are Harmed, Snark, Veterinary Clinic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:47:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27264481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OhNoMyBreadsticks/pseuds/OhNoMyBreadsticks
Summary: Eist is a simple man, dedicated to helping animals at his veterinary practice. Dedicated enough that he'll take a 2am call from the fire department about a cat that might need some help.And who knows, something wonderful may yet come from this late night adventure!
Relationships: Calanthe Fiona Riannon/Eist Tuirseach
Comments: 8
Kudos: 30
Collections: Quiet Life Bingo Fills





	You Just Haven't Earned It Yet

**Author's Note:**

> I just can't leave this pairing alone XD I just love disaster man Eist who falls for Calanthe the minute he sets eyes on her!! It's good content!! Also I couldn't resist fleshing out the background cast with all the witcher boys lol, you can imagine their dynamic at the firehouse however you'd like ;)
> 
> This was a fill for my server's bingo card, for the square 'Firefighter/Vet'

Eist certainly didn’t  _ enjoy _ late night phone calls jolting him out of his peaceful slumber, but they were far from unexpected. He was the one who had decided that being on call at all hours of the day and night was an acceptable state of being. After all, it wasn’t like he had a life or family to disrupt - his work was his life, and what family he saw nowadays didn’t live with him and were thus unlikely to be bothered by his lack of a regular sleeping arrangement. He groaned, rubbing at his eyes and groping around in the dark until he could pick up the phone and hold it to one ear. 

The caller on the other end of the line didn’t seem to mind that Eist was yawning as he listened, sitting up and starting the process of waking up. It was a case from the fire department, something that normally wouldn’t have ended up in the hands of a random local vet, but he had managed somehow to establish a relationship with both the fire department  _ and _ animal control, which meant he got all the calls of animals pulled from burning buildings or whisked out of trees or coaxed out from under porches. 

It was amazing just how many animals these guys could rescue, and Eist was beginning to think that the local firefighters were just softies for small furry things, given the amount of pups and kittens they rescued. Okay, maybe not so small, there had been a goat one time. He still wasn’t sure how that firefighter had managed to get a goat out of the top of a burning barn and then also find time to adopt it afterwards. But Eist had to admit he was quite fond of Lil Bleater and her owner. 

The current animal in danger was just a cat that had been caught up in a smoky room before they’d gotten it out, so Eist knew he wouldn’t need any assistance to handle this one. That was good, as his assistants hated getting woken up in the middle of the night. He grabbed his jacket and his go bag, telling the person on the other end of the line that he’d be there as soon as possible. It wasn’t like there was going to be much traffic for him to deal with at 2am, and the fifteen or so minute drive would let him fully wake up.

By the time Eist arrived on the scene, the fire was extinguished and the cleanup crew was there, assessing the damage and getting people help and care blankets. There was also the usual crew that he recognized, and he gave them all a little wave.    
  
“Evening, boys!” He greeted, in a tone so cheery it would probably have gotten him decked by any other group of big, hulking men who could probably bench him with one arm. Eist had never been good at toning down the good mood he found in practically every situation. Sure, it was so early in the morning (or late at night, depending on how you calculated things) that there was absolutely no light that wasn’t man made, and it was a little chilly out, and he was at the scene of a fire, but Eist couldn’t help but feel invigorated. Alive. He just loved getting to help animals. It was why he had started his own veterinary practice, after all.

“Evening, Eist” Came the rumbled greeting from the self-appointed spokesperson of their little ragtag group. Geralt’s cheeks were smudged with soot but he had taken off his helmet and mask, so the worst of the situation had to be over. They were all just mulling around at this point. Eist could spot Lambert and Eskel over at the truck, putting away the hoses, which left...huh, no, Aiden wasn’t approaching with a cat, he was just carrying some piece of equipment that he lifted towards the vet in a mock salute.

A little lost, Eist asked “I got a call about a cat. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you Geralt?” Usually, one of the men would have presented him with the animal by now, cooing over it and making sure that he knew exactly what help it needed. Softies, the lot of them.

Geralt simply replied “Captain’s bringing her.” His voice was measured and calm as always, but if Eist didn’t know any better, he could have sworn there was a hint of admiration buried in those three simple words.   
  
“Ah, fantastic. I don’t think I’ve ever met your captain” Eist said conversationally, as he crouched down and began unpacking the items he thought he’d need for this kind of checkup, spreading a blanket out on the ground as a makeshift examination table. Geralt said nothing in reply, but that wasn’t unusual. He may have been the spokesperson, but that didn’t mean he spoke all that much. He was just the one the others shoved in front to have awkward conversations they didn’t want to deal with.

Just as Eist was going to offer to go to the captain instead of waiting around, a figure emerged, holding a squirming bundle of fur in its arms. And my god, but Eist was going to have to kick his own ass for whatever internalized misogyny had made him assume the captain was a man. Instead, possibly the most incredibly beautiful woman he’d ever seen was approaching. She was sporting a scowl and the world’s messiest bun, and her eye makeup had been turned into raccoon circles, and she was  _ gorgeous _ .

The honest part of Eist’s brain admitted that part of the appeal was that she looked like she could break him in half over her knee, and he’d like it.

“So who do we have here?” He asked, trying to put his cheerful persona back on. The answering glare he got should not have been so arousing, but it was.

“Geralt, I thought you said this vet was competent. If he can’t identify a cat that’s two feet away from him, I worry for his mental capacity.” The captain growled, and Geralt shrugged. He didn’t see the need to defend Eist, the traitor.

“Well I can see it’s a cat” Eist chuckled, patting the blanket to get Calanthe to set the animal down, “You know how sometimes a question can be more metaphorical? Or rather a sly way of asking what your name is?” 

The woman looked entirely unimpressed as she replied “No. I don’t waste my breath on metaphors.” 

A shame, really. Eist simply smiled and began his examination of the cat, who looked to be far more angry than hurt in this situation. A good outcome, he didn’t mind at all. 

“I guess I’ll have to go the boring way then” he said, glancing up at her as his hands expertly felt along the cat’s abdomen for abnormalities or injuries, “My name’s Eist. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“You call this a pleasure?” The captain replied, raising one dark eyebrow, “My questions about your mental capacity have returned in full force.” 

She didn’t, Eist noticed, actually tell him her name. Damn, she was good. 

“Well it is always a pleasure when I’m able to assist a patient that is in no immediate danger” He finished his examination and shot the captain a smile as he joked, “I’ll take this little lioness back with me for an evening of observation, but she should be fine. You did a good job of getting her out before anything bad could happen.”

There was a flicker there, a hint of a smile, and Eist knew he was lost forever. He was going to have to hope the boys saved more animals in the next few weeks. She didn’t say anything as she helped Eist get the cat into the travelling crate he’d brought, nor as she stood and gave him a once-over that had his heart beating high up in his throat. 

Only just as she turned to leave did she finally deign to speak, saying a simple “Thank you, Eist. You do appear to be a semi-capable veterinarian.”

And damn, Eist would take that if he got to watch her stride away afterwards. There was just something about a woman who walked like she knew everyone in a five mile radius would follow her orders without question. He was pathetic, but that wasn’t any new revelation. Sidling up to Geralt, who was still standing there stoically, Eist took a risk and bumped him playfully with a shoulder.

“So what’s your captain’s name?” 

Geralt actually snorted at that, and shook his head. “If she hasn’t given it to you yet, you haven’t earned it. But new recruits call her the Lioness of the Firehouse.”

_ The Lioness _ . Now there was a name Eist could get behind. Or under. Regardless, he wasn’t at all disappointed that this was what he took away with him into the night.

That, and the determination that one day he was going to earn the pleasure of speaking this woman’s name.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Any and all comments are loved and cherished <3
> 
> I’m available on [tumblr](https://ohnomybreadsticks.tumblr.com/) if you ever feel like chatting or reading some of my lil drabbles, I’d love to see you there <3


End file.
